One of the best ways to get a fairly accurate reading of one's tissue pH is to pass a litmus paper through a urine stream first thing in the morning. The 1st urine in the morning is a pretty good indicator because the body has had all night to process the entire days nutrient ingestion and balance itself out, hence a goodindicator of real body tissue pH.
Do not be surprised if you test acidic. Most folks initially will test very acidic in the yellow zone (pH 4-5). Time to make changes to move this into the green zone (pH 6.5 - 7). Urinary pH is always more acidic than the saliva. A normal urinary pH reading in the morning should be somewhere between 6.0-6.4 while in the evening hour a healthy range is considered to be somewhere between 6.4 - 6.8.
The pH of the saliva should be slightly more alkaline than that of the urine. A healthy pH for saliva fluctuates somewhere between 6.6 - 7.0.
The best way to make your pH more alkaline is to stop consuming things that make acidity levels greater in the body- cola soda pop is a 2.0! It takes 32- 8 oz glasses of pH 8 water to counter balance 1 can of soda pop! Coffee is a 4! Most beer is somewhere between 2.5-4.2 depending on the brand. Folks that consume huge amounts of soda pop and/or beer are usually acidic and are magnets for most illnesses including cancer.
Potassium and sodium are both 14 on the pH scale, calcium registers a 12 and magnesium is 9- all alkalizing elements for the body to shift the pH alkaline. Shifting pH normally takes some time so do not become discouraged in your climb out of the acid tank. Young children with high vitality levels will normally be alkaline and if they are not will normally return to an alkaline tissue pH in a matter of just a couple of weeks on the Eniva minerals along with minor dietary changes (eliminate soda pop and all sugar for quickest change).
Adults take longer. You are probably looking at 3-4 months in your endeavor.
Every mineral has an optimum pH that it likes and performs best in. Iron for example will perform best when the body tissue pH is between 6.0 - 7.0 while iodine has a much more narrow band width of performance (6.3 - 6.6). If the tissue pH is further out than this the body cannot maximize the mineral nutrient to effect the healing it should.
For over five years researchers at Meridian Institute have been looking into the connection between pH (acid/alkaline) balance and viral infection - a link noted by Edgar Cayce in several of his psychic readings. With the recent epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and continued concerns about common conditions such as colds and flu, our interest in this field has expanded to explore basic science and clinical projects to test the Cayce hypothesis. Here is an overview of what we have found so far and where we are headed. Some simple preventive measures will also be discussed.
Understanding Viruses
Viruses are extremely small parasitic life forms, the smallest living things on Earth. In essence, a virus is a minuscule pocket of protein that contains genetic material.
Although viruses can remain dormant outside a living body, they only become active when in contact with live tissue. Once a virus infects a cell by penetrating the cell membrane, it can either lay dormant (lysogenic infection) or begin reproducing itself (lytic infection - the more common pattern). When a cell becomes full of virus, it bursts releasing the virus to infect other host cells.
A wide variety of diseases are caused by viruses including the common cold, flu, warts, measles, hepatitis, herpes, smallpox, and AIDS. SARS is just the latest in a long list of viral parasites.
Unlike bacteria that can usually be effectively treated with antibiotics, viral infections are often unresponsive to modern medical treatment. If the virus causing a disease has been discovered, a serum may be developed to provide inoculation against that specific virus. The most common approach to virus protection is to avoid contamination by infected individuals.
Viral pH Dependency
Laboratory experiments (in vitro) have confirmed that many viruses require a mildly acidic environment to attack host cells. At Meridian Institute we are interested in determining exactly how this physiological fact manifests within the human body (in vivo). Understanding the role of pH balance in viral infections may provide preventive and therapeutic breakthroughs for dealing with epidemics including the recent outbreak of SARS.
To appreciate the relevance of pH for viral infection, let's first review some facts about acid/alkaline balance. The acid/alkaline continuum ranges from 0-14 with 7 as neutral. The lower end of the scale (below 7) is acid and above 7 is alkaline.
Acid/alkaline balance is extremely important to normal physiology. For example, the blood will maintain a slightly alkaline range of 7.35 to 7.45. Extended pH imbalances of any kind are not well tolerated by the body. The management of the pH factor is so important that the body's primary regulatory systems (especially breathing, circulation, and eliminations) closely regulate acid-alkaline balance in every cell and system.
Certain viruses (including the rhinoviruses and coronaviruses that are most often responsible for the common cold and influenza viruses that produce flu) infect host cells by fusion with cellular membranes at low pH. Thus they are classified as "pH-dependent viruses."
Drugs that increase intracellular pH (alkalinity within the cell) have been shown to decrease infectivity of pH-dependent viruses. Since such drugs can provoke negative side effects, the obvious question is whether more natural techniques can produce the same result.
Possible Relevance to SARS
The World Health Organization has concluded that SARS is produced by a new virulent strain of coronavirus. Specific research on the possible pH dependency of the SARS virus has not yet been done. It is well known that coronavirus infectivity is exquisitely sensitive to pH. For example, the MHV-A59 strain of coronavirus is quite stable at pH 6.0 (acidic) but becomes rapidly and irreversibly inactivated by brief treatment at pH 8.0 (alkaline). Human coronavirus strain 229E is maximally infective at pH 6.0. Infection of cells by murine coronavirus A59 at pH 6.0 (acidic) rather than pH 7.0 (neutral) yields a tenfold increase in the infectivity of the virus.
If the strain of coronavirus responsible for SARS shares the pH characteristics of these other coronaviruses that are pH-dependent, this could be a valuable clue to effective prevention and treatment strategies for this frightening epidemic. Perhaps keeping a balanced or slightly alkaline pH environment for the body's tissues can provide viral protection or enhanced healing for SARS and common viral agents that cause respiratory infections.
Edgar Cayce's Recommendations
Edgar Cayce affirmed the importance of pH balance with regard to common viruses that cause colds and flu. Cayce repeatedly insisted that such infectious agents do not thrive in an alkaline environment. When asked how to prevent colds, Cayce replied, "by keeping the body alkaline. Only in acids do colds attack the body." (3248-1)
Cayce recommended using litmus paper to test the pH of urine and saliva as an indication of the pH balance of the body. We now have more precise means for monitoring pH in the form of pH paper and digital pH meters.
As a practical preventive measure, Cayce's suggestions for alkalizing the body emphasized eating an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially salads: "... if an alkalinity is maintained in the system - especially with lettuce, carrots and celery, these in the blood supply will maintain such a condition as to immunize a person." (480-19) Consuming citrus fruit and juices was also a common alkalizing suggestion in the readings that addressed concerns about cold and flu infections.
Meridian Institute Research
We reported a preliminary study on dietary effects of urine pH in January 1999 (Vol 3 No 1). The study was done to test Edgar Cayce's recommendations for testing urine as a marker for systemic pH balance. Our conclusion was that following Cayce dietary recommendations of eating primarily alkaline-producing foods (such as fruits and vegetables) does indeed tend to alkalize the urine.
CIDP is diverse , it has been recently reported to involve cranial nerves, CNS and thus makeing guidelines and trying to fit this condition within them is not a easy task.